Life is precious.

Okay, it's been waaaay too long since I've updated this blog. I miss writing in it. Things are going great. School's going well...exams are next week though, and I am very nervous about those. I'm looking forward very much to Christmas. I love the whole Christmas season, and the Christmas magic that I don't think will ever leave me! Oh, one other "big" thing. My life has been changed - all by one little girl named Ellie. Ellie is 8 and has a rare cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. A few months ago, Holly and I made a twitter for Ellie and we have now over 3,000 followers and many celebrities have tweeted about Ellie including Melissa Joan Hart, Spencer Pratt, Deepak Chopra, Jordin Sparks, Mark Ballas, and Khloe Kardashian. Ellie has taught me to love life. Things that I used to think were so awful about my life, things that I didn't like about myself, now seem so insigficant. Who am I to complain about one pimple or about my hair when Ellie is fighting for her life? There are so many things out of our control, and our very life is one of those. But Ellie and her family have let God know that he is in control, and they are the strongest family that I have ever seen. I know that Ellie will beat this. I need her to beat this, and her family and twin sister need her. Follow @LiftUpEllie on twitter if you aren't already. Much love to you all. Visit caringbridge.org/visit/elliepotvin for more on Ellie.

A lot to catch up on...

I suck! I promised myself that I'd update this blog more often but of course, I haven't updated since September 24th. First things first. Happy belated birthday to my sister, Margaret, who turned 12 on September 29th. I can't believe she's already 12! Time really flies. Speaking of birthdays, happy belated birthday also to my mother who turned (beep) (beep) on October 7th! Oh, why did I beep her age out? We all know she's turning 30, right mom?! Also speaking of birthdays, mine is in two days! I'm so excited to be fifteen and whoop-whoop, I can get my permit too. Oh my dear, here's some big news. I passed my first breathalizer. *round of applause* Right, right. These may be old news to all you oldies but here I was thinking they were scanning me to see if I was chewing gum and no way, they were seeing if I was drunk. Oh, funny story. On our way out of the dance, I was like "Mary Claire, I see your car. Oh wait, I don't. I'm hallucinating." We were right in front of the po-po. I'm surprised they didn't make me do the breathalizer again! Homecoming was a lot of fun, even though I just went with friends. Overall, a very good night. Anyway, goodnight my lovelies!

Laughter

Do you ever think about how much you laugh in a day? Well, Holly and I did today and we decided that it's a lot, which of course made us laugh even more. I laugh about everything, whether it's funny or not. Like today when Holly scared in Panera, or we tricked Caroline into thinking that Victoria had actually shown up. Or when Mrs. Shaia is dancing around the classroom saying, "Dear Jesus, this is wonderful!". I love to laugh. I'm really loving life right now. There's no drama at school. Last year when I sort of "switched" to a different group of friends after Hayden moved, the drama was gone. And I love it. It wasn't Hayden at all, don't take it that way! I think we all know who it was - Katie. And I don't hold anything against her anymore. I've forgiven her for the past and we're moving on into the present. I'm actually going over to her house on Sunday but she isn't someone who I want to have a close relationship with. Anyway, this post in a nutshell is basically "Laugh as much as you breathe, and love as long as you live."

Hayden

In two days, my best friend in the entire world will be 15 years old. We met when we were both 6, in first day. We were introduced under a tree. Great story, huh? It really is, because it began the best friendship I could've ever imagined. I can tell Hayden anything. I probably tell her way more than she's interested in knowing but she just acts like she cares anyway. She always stands up for me and bitchslaps people on demand. I can trust her and our inside jokes are endless. Between naming an impulse buy marble collection, attempting to kill a fly with a baby blanket, getting stuck at the top of an elevator, talking to a gay dude via text, and donald duck the sex toy, we've got it all covered. Hayden is the bestest friend ever in the whole entire world. I love her. And for the record: Hayden, dear, you aren't spoiled. You are amazing. You are smart. You are gorgeous. You are my breast friend. And I love you dearly.

Cruise excitement!

We're going on our cruise in just a few days! I am incredibly excited. We've been so excited for this for so long -- it's going to be amazing! I also got a new phone. I got the Samsung Impression and I love it. It's really neat! I'm planning on getting a new camera (hopefully before the trip *fingers crossed*). I'm hoping we can even go this weekend sometime. School is still great. I'm doing well (for the most part) and love most of my teachers. I don't like my geometry teacher at all, and I think my computer teacher may really be a man but other than that, I'm enjoying it. It's fun. I'm looking at it this way: If I love it now, it's only going to get better. Boy, do I hope that it's true.

Taylor Swift!

Last night, we saw Taylor Swift. The experience was one that I'll never forget. It was a hilarious night before the concert started. Kelsey kept yelling, "Look, there's Taylor Swift!" and pointing in a certain director or, "Whoa, is that Martina McBride?" The looks on people's faces were so funny. We made friends with a creeper on the light rail. He told us that "Taylor puts on a hell of a show." He was frightening. We also saw a 40 year old-ish guy wearing a flowered Taylor Swift t-shirt. I've never laughed so hard in my life. Then, the concert started. Gloriana did really well and Kellie Pickler was amazing! In between Kellie and Taylor, my mom went out to get us ice cream and came back and said that Kellie had walked right by her and was signing things. We went out and she was right in front of me! It was amazing. She signed my ticket. She was so sweet. Then, Taylor came out. She dazzled everyone there. She was stunningly gorgeous and is such a good performer. It was unbelieveable. At one point, she came out onto this island thing. She was right in front of me, as you can see in the picture. I didn't zoom at all. She was that close. After she was done, she squeezed my hand and smiled. I was starstruck. It was overall, an amazing, amazing, amazing night. Thank you mom for taking us!

Oops!

Well, you know how I'd said that I was going to blog everyday? That obviously didn't happen and I apologize. Things have been busy but amazing here. School is going great. Oh, and Katie apologized. I can't believe it. Never in a million years did I expect it and that makes it ten times better! I'm so happy. This has been the best year of my life so far. It's great and I'm loving it. Ah, I don't know what more to say. I am content and happy. I never realized how much I actually missed school until I got there. Now I actually dread coming home. How weird is that? Anyway, I'm going to try to blog a little more but Blogger has been so slow for me lately! Anyone else? Love you guys.

Day Two

I am making an effort to update my blog everyday this year. We'll see if it actually works but I think it'd be cool to document my first year of high school and I know that I'll love looking back on it. Today was another great day. I cannot believe that it is just the second day of school. It feels like I've been there forever. My aunt texted me today and told me, "Remember today. Nobody ever remembers the second day and it's always better than the first." I totally agree with that. This day was great. I really like my teachers and my classes, and I just love everything about my school. I hope that the rest of the year continues this way but for now, it's safe to say that I'm thrilled to be spending my next four years here.

Wow

I am back from my first day of high school and it was a million times better than I expected. I didn't get lost and even though I almost broke down crying from the stress in biology, seeing my friends at lunch made it all better and I had a great rest of the day. The day was really just perfect. Except for the fact that I couldn't get my locker open until the end of the day, ha. Other than that, it went so well. My religion teacher is an older man, I'd guess he's close to 70 and he is so hilarious. He told a guy that "this class isn't a makeout class, it's a religion class". He's really just too funny and I can't wait to have class with him! Like I've mentioned 200+ times in this post, high school exceeded my expectations. My first day was amazing. What was I worried about?!

Oh My Gosh

I can't believe that tomorrow is the day. I'm nervous. I'm scared. I'm happy. I'm sad. I'm excited. My emotions are so out of whack. I can't wait to start high school. Everyone says that I'll love it and that's promising. Right now, from my angle, it looks so intimidating though. The upperclassmen, the harder work, the bigger building. I know it'll all come with time. After one day, after one week, after one month, after one year. It'll all come and be just as familiar to me as my house. It's hard to believe that the summer is nearly over but I am excited for the new opportunities that lay ahead next year. Wish me luck tomorrow.

Firsts

This year is going to bring a lot of firsts. First day of high school for me. First day of middle school for Margaret. First day of second grade for Grace. There are a lot of unkown firsts too. First time taking biology. First time taking geometry. Maybe even other opportunities that I don't know about. All of these firsts are going to take place without my best friend. Of course, I have other friends but I never thought that I'd be without Hayden, especially starting high school. We've gone through so much. We've been through mean girls, first periods, deaths, first boyfriends and a lot more. We've shared so much with one another. Now, we can't share it face-to-face and it makes me sad. In a way, the move has made us stronger. We've broken away from eachother and made some new friends, but we're still just as close as we've always been. The move has proved that we're true friends. True friends text eachother all day, everyday. True friends call eachother at 11 at night because the one is sad. Hayden and I are true friends. Friends forever and ever. I don't think our friendship will ever fail. We're in it together, forever and ever. I can't wait to look back on these years as friends and tell our children and granchildren all about our best friend. I can't wait to see my maid of honor walk down the aisle, smiling and beautiful like she always is. I love you, Hayden and I'm so proud of our friendship!

Nerves

High school. Freshmen. Three Days. In three days, on Wednesday, I'll be starting high school. I go back and forth between being excited and being nervous, but I think that I am mostly nervous. It's a new place with a lot of new people. I'm being pushed out of my comfort zone and into a whole new world. With that comes a lot more experiences and opportunities. I'm looking forward to the freedom and the friends. I'm not looking forward to the homework and the stress. It's hard to believe that I am starting high school. I know it's cliche but kids just grow up so fast. I know that it's strange to be saying that about myself but I remember when I was a big sister for the first time. And the second time. Now, Margaret and Grace are 11 and 7. Treasure every moment because you can't get any of them back. Each moment you spend mad and upset is a waste of that moment. Every minute, every day, every month that you live is a gift from God. I need to remember that as I start high school, follow my own advice. It'll be strange, it'll be uncomfortable but it's one step closer to growing up and one step closer to becoming who I want to be.